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Friday, March 15, 2013

American Evolution on Marriage

I
am very pleased that Sen.
Rob Portman (R. Ohio) has changed his position regarding the
fundamental right of people to marry the person that they love. He
has shown that it is possible for someone's political and social
stance to evolve toward equality. His new found belief that people of
different sexual orientations should be treated equally is
commendable.

As often happens, his position changed when he really
stopped to think about what he was doing to other human beings. The
event that prompted his reevaluation of his position was when one of
his sons came out to him as a gay man. CBS
News reports:

Portman
told The Cincinnati Enquirer his evolution on the subject began in
2011 when his son, Will, then a freshman at Yale University, told his
parents he was gay.

The love for a family member can do wonders, and both
Will Portman and his father should be proud of their courage to
evaluate and stand by the truth regardless of the potential
consequences.

Legislators and voters have been acting in destructive
and inhumane ways against their family, friends, and neighbors. The
question is: why? Why won't they take the time to look at the harm
they are doing before their family members become collateral damage
to their unexamined ideology. Perhaps it is fear, or religion, or
maybe just being human that keeps some people from reflecting on the
damage they are doing until it is too late.

Whatever the case, those that have been enlightened have
a responsibility to others. It is out responsibility to help those
that can be helped to see the discriminatory path that they are on
and help them get on the path to equality. For those that can't be
swayed from their anti-human path, it is our responsibility to
challenge their bigotry at every turn.

It may not be right, but the burden is on us. The
responsibility falls on our lap to engage those whose rhetoric flows
from sleeping minds and turn them toward a path of equality.